The Ford Focus sedan comes in four trim flavors, S, SE, SEL and Titanium, while the five-door hatch omits the base S version. Keeping form with past economy car tradition, only the S and SE trims have been offered with a five-speed manual transmission, but that changes with the 2012 Focus: the top-drawer Titanium trim will shortly receive a manual option.
According to a report in Car and Driver, enough Ford customers have been specifically asking for a Focus Titanium with the handling pack and the five-speed tranny that the company is going to put it out there. No one is sure what percentage of buyers will check the box, but it will be interesting to see if it beats the seven percent of S and SE buyers who choose the manual.
On the lower trims, the manual is standard and the dual-clutch automatic adds a $1,095 premium. While a base Focus S is priced at $16,500, Titanium models start at $22,200 for the sedan or $22,700 for the five-door (both are subject to a $795 delivery fee). The Titanium manual option isn’t available yet on the Focus configurator, but we’ll be on the lookout to see if Ford lowers the price for top-tier Focus drivers who want to do their own rowing.
autoblog
